Shaft-operating means

ABSTRACT

A shaft-operating means includes knob mean operatively connected to an indicia-indicating means for indicating selected positions of the knob means. Operating means is secured onto a shaft means which is adapted to be moved, and coupling means couples the operating means and means on the knob means to operate the operating means and shaft means when the knob means is operated.

[ Apr. 30, 1974 1,669,824 5/1928 Grover..........................,.. 74/108 X 2,552,488 5/1951 3,564,930

[ SHAFT-OPERATING MEANS 74/108 Titov et a1. 74/10 8 K1ein........

[75] Inventor: Albert William Huegli, Beaverton,

Oreg.

Assignee: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, Oreg.

Primary ExaminerAllan D. Herrmann [22] Filed Dec 30 1971 Attorney, Agent, or FirmAdrian .1. La Rue [21] Appl. No. 213,986

[57] ABSTRACT A shaft-operating means includes knob mean operatively connected to an indicia-indicating means for in- 7M 1 mm 0 n m St Uh 1] 21 55 dicating selected positions of the knob means. Operat- [58] Field of Search........ 74/108, 409, 553; 308/36 ing means is secured onto a shaft means which is adapted to be moved, and coupling means couples the [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS operating means and means on the knob means to 0perate the operating means and shaft means when the knob means is operated.

m ma DFB O5 667 999 7 6 963 262 47 468 233 74/553 UX BOB/DIG. 7

74/501 P 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATFENTEBAPR 30 m4 sum 1 of 4 INVENTOR.

PTEFEW 30 m SHEEI 2 [1F 4 INVENTOR'.

ALBERT WILLIAM HUEGLI ATTORNEY aam'zm PAYETEUAPR 30 I974 SHEEI 3 BF 4 INVENTORZ ALBERT WILLIAM saw u {If 4 INVENTOR'. ALBERT WILLIAM HUEGLI BY 1 AT TO R 1 SHAFT-OPERATING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Heretofore,'the shaft of an electrical device was directly coupled to a knob means defining a shaftoperating means as a unit with an indicia readout means being operated via secondary driving means. Such an arrangement covered twice the necessary panel space, the indicia readout means was not accurate, and indicia was difficult to read. Also, no adapter means was available to enable the shaft-operating means to be operatively coupled to a shaft of any type of electrical, electro-mechanical or mechanical device.

An object of the present invention is to provide shaftoperating means that takes up less panel space.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of shaft-operating means that is more accurate since back lash is substantially minimized and the indicia can be read out more easily.

A further object of the present invention is to provide shaft-operating means which is provided'with adaptor means forcoupling to shaft means of any electrical device to'operate the same.

An additional object of the present invention is the provision'that theadaptor means permits interchangeability to replace damaged electrical devices and provides versatility since gear means for securing onto' shaft means can have an opening to accommodate the size of the shaft means.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide adaptor means that is directly coupled to the shaft means to be operated such that the axes of the knob means and shaft means are parallel.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of adaptor means which is coupled to the shaft means via idler gear means such that the axis of each of the knob means and shaft means are coextensrve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the shaft-operating means;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the shaftoperating means of FIG. 1 in an assembled condition;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the shaft-operating means;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the shaftoperating means of FIG. 4 in an assembled condition; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters will be used to designate like parts throughout, FIGS. 1-3 illustrate shaft-operating means SOM including a turning knob. 1 having depressions 2 disposed in its outer surface to form flutes to enable an operator to turn knob 1 without slippage. Knob 1 is frictionally mounted onto sleeve 3 in a telescopic manner and slots 4 located on-the inner surface of knob 1 mate with projections 5 on sleeve 3 to prevent knob 1 from slipping on sleeve 3 so that positive drive is maintained therebetween when knob 1 is rotated. If desired, knob 1 can be any color or configuration so long as its inner surface mates with sleeve 3 and one color knob can readily be substituted for any other color knob. Gear teeth 6 are provided on an inner shoulder of sleeve 3. A cup-shaped member 7 receives indicia-bearing members 8 therein. Indicia-bearing members 8 are mounted on shaft 9 which has a gear 10 secured thereon. Gear 10 is disposed within a U-shaped slot 11 in cup-shaped member 7 and it extends slightly above the top surface 7a thereof for meshing engagement with gear teeth 6 so that when knob 1 and sleeve 3 are rotated, indicia-bearing members 8 are rotated to provide a selected indication. The indicia-bearing member adjacent gear 10 is secured onto shaft 9 and it has a bearing surface that bears on the bottom of slot 11 while the other indicia-bearing members are rotatably mounted on shaft 9 and they are rotated via a conventional geneva gear means 12. The other end of shaft 9 is disposed within a slot 13.

Projections 14 are provided adjacent slots 11 and l and they have pins 15 extending outwardly therefrom which mate with holes (not shown) in cover member 16 which maintain indicia-bearing members 8 in position and cup-shaped member 7, indicia-bearing members 8 and cover member 16 when assembled define indicia unit; A window 17 is provided in cover member 16 so that the indicia of the indicia-bearing members 8 can be observed. A clear plastic disc 18 is secured in sleeve 3 to protect the indicia-bearing members and to observe same. Gear teeth 6 engage onto top surface 7a of cup-shaped member 7 in order to provide a guide surface for gear teeth 6 and to assure that gear teeth 6 and gear 10 are properly meshed at alltimes. A projection 19 having splines 20 thereon extends outwardly from the rear end of cup-shaped member 7 and projection 19 extends into opening 21 of bearing member 22 with splines 20 tightly engaging the inner wall of member 22 and lugs 23 mating with slots 24 to assure proper orientation of the indicia unit. An epoxy glue is used to secure projection 19 within member 22. Bearing member 22 is part of mounting member 25 which is mounted in an opening 26 in panel 27. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, mounting member 25 is secured in position via a threaded member 28, a washer 29 and a nut 30, whereas a nut 31 is threaded onto mounting member 25a of the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6.

The indicia unit is disposed within another cupshaped member 32 which is secured to sleeve 3 for rotation thereby. Gear 33 is part of member 32 and it is disposed within mounting members 25 and 25a and an internal arcuate-shaped annular bearing projection 34 within opening 35 of member 32 bears on bearing member 22 when member 32 is rotated thereon. Bear.

ing projection 34 in bearing on bearing member 22 provides less friction, constant pitch diameter and knob stability.

A collar 36 is threadably mounted on an electrical device 37 such as, for example, a potentiometer or any electrical device having a shaft-driven movable member..A gear 38 having a metal insert 39 is secured on shaft 40 via a set screw and these members and collar 36 are secured within an area 41 of mounting members 25 and 25a via a set screw.

In the case of FIGS. 1-3, adapter gear 38 meshes with gear 33 through opening 25b in mounting member 25 and is the driven gear when gear 33 is rotated with a minimum of backlashfl'hus, the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 is'directed to an adapter which is offset from the axis of the knob and it is'securable onto shaft means of electrical devices to be driven.

In the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6, an idler I gear 42 is disposed within the recess in mounting member 25a in engagement with gears 33 and 38 and an arcuate-shaped annular bearing projection 43 is located on the exterior surface of gear 42 and bears on the internal surface of the recess in mounting member 25a to operate in the same manner as bearing projection 34. The axis of the knob-operating means of FIGS. 4-6 is coextensive with the axis of shaft 40.

Driving gear 33 and driven gear 3 'have the same number of teeth and they have c extensive axes whereas idler gear 42 has about one-fifth more teeth so that about one-fourth of the teeth of the driving and driven gears 33 and 38 are engaged with corresponding teeth of idler gear 42 thereby substantially minimizing backlash. Due to the fact that idler gear 42 has more teeth than drivingor driven gears 33 and 38, the axis of idler gear 42 is slightly offset with respect to the coextensive axes of the driving and driven gears.

It will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that many changes may be made in the details of the preferred embodiments of'the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should only be determined by the following claims.

The invention is claimed in accordance with the following:

1. A shaft-operating device for operating a shaft of a knob means mounted on said panel-mounting means for rotation relative thereto and including driving gear means having surface means provided with the same diameter therealong; bearing projection means extending outwardly from said surface means and having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of said bearing means, said bearing-projection means in bearing engagement with said bearing surface means; and adaptor means provided on said panel-mounting 'means for connection to the shaft and including driven gear means operatively connected to said driving gear means to drive same. 2. A shaft-operating device according to claim 1 wherein the axes of said gear means extend parallel to each other and said gear means are in meshing engagement.

3. A shaft-operating device according to claim 1 wherein the axes of said gear means are coextensive and idler gear means is in meshing engagement with said driving and driven gear means.

4. A shaft-operating device comprising:

a panel-mounting means having bearing means provided thereby;

knob means mounted on said panel-mounting means for rotation relative thereto;

driving-gear means provided by said knob means and having surface means provided with the same diameter therealong; bearing-projection means extending outwardly from said surface means and having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of said bearing means, said bearing-projection means engaging said bearing means for providing less friction and stabilizes operation of said knob means;

driven-gear means operatively connected with said driving-gear means and driven thereby; and

means provided by said driven-gear means for connection onto a shaftto be driven thereby.

5. A shaft-operating device according to claim 4 wherein said driven gear means meshes directly with said driving gear means with the axes of said gear means being parallel.

..6. A shaft-operating device according to claim 5 wherein said mounting means has an opening therethrough enabling said driving and driven gear means to mesh with each other.

7. A shaft-operating device according to claim 4 including indicia means operatively connected to said knob means,

8. A shaft-operating device according to claim 4 wherein idler gear means engage said driving and driven gear means and the axes of said driving and driven gear means are coextensive.

9. A shaft-operating device according to claim 8 wherein the axis of said idler gear means is offset with respect to the axes of said driving and driven gear means and about one-fourth of the teeth of said driving and driven gear means are in engagement with corresponding teeth of said idler gear means.

10. A-shaft-operating device according to claim 8 wherein said driving gear means and said idler gear means include annular bearing projection means,- said annular bearing projection means on said driving gear means being on the inner'surface thereof and'bearing on said bearing means, said annular bearing projection means on said idler gear means being on the outer surface thereof and bearing on another bearing means on said mounting means. 

1. A shaft-operating device for operating a shaft of a device comprising: a panel-mounting means having bearing surface means provided thereby; knob means mounted on said panel-mounting means for rotation relative thereto and including driving gear means having surface means provided with the same diameter therealong; bearing projection means extending outwardly from said surface means and having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of said bearing means, said bearing-projection means in bearing engagement with said bearing surface means; and adaptor means provided on said panel-mounting means for connection to the shaft and including driven gear means operatively connected to said driving gear means to drive same.
 2. A shaft-operating device according to claim 1 wherein the axes of said gear means extend parallel to each other and said gear means are in meshing engagement.
 3. A shaft-operating device according to claim 1 wherein the axes of said gear means are coextensive and idler gear means is in meshing engagement with said driving and driven gear means.
 4. A shaft-operating device comprising: a panel-mounting means having bearing means provided thereby; knob means mounted on said panel-mounting means for rotation relative thereto; driving-gear means provided by said knob means and having surface means provided with the same diameter therealong; bearing-projection means extending outwardly from said surface means and having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of said bearing means, said bearing-projection means engaging said bearing means for providing less friction and stabilizes operation of said knob means; driven-gear means operatively connected with said driving-gear means and driven thereby; and means provided by said driven-gear means for connection onto a shaft to be driven thereby.
 5. A shaft-operating device according to claim 4 wherein said driven gear means meshes directly with said driving gear means with the axes of said gear means being parallel.
 6. A shaft-operating device according to claim 5 wherein said mounting means has an opening therethrough enabling said driving and driven gear means to mesh with each other.
 7. A shaft-operating device according to claim 4 including indicia means operatively connected to said knob means.
 8. A shaft-operating device according to claim 4 wherein idler gear means engage said driving and driven gear means and the axes of said driving and driven gear means are coextensive.
 9. A shaft-operating device according to claim 8 wherein the axis of said idler gear means is offset with respect to the axes of said driving and driven gear means and about one-foUrth of the teeth of said driving and driven gear means are in engagement with corresponding teeth of said idler gear means.
 10. A shaft-operating device according to claim 8 wherein said driving gear means and said idler gear means include annular bearing projection means, said annular bearing projection means on said driving gear means being on the inner surface thereof and bearing on said bearing means, said annular bearing projection means on said idler gear means being on the outer surface thereof and bearing on another bearing means on said mounting means. 